Method and apparatus for MoCA network with protected set-up

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for securing a network, for admitting new nodes into an existing network, and/or for securely forming a new network. As a non-limiting example, an existing node may be triggered by a user, in response to which the existing node communicates with a network coordinator node. Thereafter, if a new node attempts to enter the network, and also for example has been triggered by a user, the network coordinator may determine, based at least in part on parameters within the new node and the network coordinator, whether the new node can enter the network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/026,636, filed on Jul. 3, 2019, and titled “Method andApparatus for MoCA Network with Protected Set-Up,” now U.S. Pat. No.10,230,515; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/586,836, filed on May 4, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,015,000, andtitled “Method and Apparatus for MoCA Network with Protected Set-Up”;which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/857,453,filed on Sep. 17, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,647,817, and titled “Methodand Apparatus for MoCA Network with Protected Set-Up”; which makesreference to, claims priority to and claims benefit from U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/051,532, filed on Sep. 17,2014, and titled “Method and Apparatus for MoCA Network with ProtectedSet-Up,” the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

SEQUENCE LISTING

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND

Various communication networks, such as for example MoCA networks, lacka method and/or apparatus for securely, reliably, and efficiently addinga new node to the network. Limitations and disadvantages of conventionalmethods and systems for handling the addition of a new node to anetwork, for example a MoCA network, will become apparent to one ofskill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with someaspects of the present methods and systems set forth in the remainder ofthis disclosure with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a premises having a MoCA network.

FIG. 2 shows an example block diagram of a network node, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods forsecuring a network, for admitting new nodes into an existing network,and/or securely forming a new network. As a non-limiting example, anexisting node may be triggered by a user, in response to which theexisting node communicates with a network coordinator node. Thereafter,if a new node attempts to enter the network, and also for example hasbeen triggered by a user, the network coordinator may determine, basedat least in part on parameters within the new node and the networkcoordinator, whether the new node can enter the network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or x” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set offlists of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example a semiconductor device may be turnedsideways so that its “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side”surface is facing vertically, without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

A premises (e.g., a home, office, campus, etc.) may comprise acommunication network for the sharing of information between variousdevices within the premises. For example, entertainment content may bereceived through a wide area network (WAN) provided by an MSO(Multi-system Operator), such as a cable television operator orsatellite content provider. Content provided to the premises may bedistributed throughout the premises over entertainment premises-basednetwork (e.g., a home entertainment network, general premises-basedcommunication network, etc.). The premises-based network may, forexample, comprise a local area network (LAN) in any of a variety ofconfigurations, such as a mesh network. An example protocol forestablishing a premises-based network, for example a home entertainmentLAN, is defined by the well-known MoCA (Multi-media over Coax Alliance)network protocol that is in-use today.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a premises 100 (e.g., a home, office,campus, etc.) having a MoCA network 101. The discussion here willgenerally provide examples in a MoCA network environment. It should beunderstood, however, that the scope of this disclosure is not limited toMoCA networks. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the MoCA network 101receives content from an MSO at a MoCA Point of Entry (POE). The MoCAnetwork 101 enables the content to be communicated to all of the MoCAnodes 104, 106 108, and 110 on the MoCA network 101. In the exampleshown in FIG. 1, the MoCA nodes 104, 106, 108, and 110 are coupled(e.g., communicatively coupled via any of a variety of types ofcommunication links) to either a television or a computer. For example,the information that is present in the computer 112 can be formatted forand displayed on any of the televisions by sending Prioritized Qualityof Service (PQoS) data streams from the computer 112 to one or more ofthe televisions 114, 116, and 118 via the associated MoCA nodes 104,106, 108, and 110.

When setting up a premises-based network (e.g., a home entertainmentnetwork), network security may be a consideration. For example, invarious scenarios, it may be beneficial to ensure that only thosedevices that are authorized to transmit and receive information over thenetwork can do so. Network security may be accomplished in any of avariety of manners. For example, one way in which security may bemaintained within a LAN is to ensure that only devices that have anetwork password can enter the network. Therefore, in order to gainaccess to the network, a device must generally gain access first to thepassword used to secure the network.

One example manner of allowing a new device, sometimes referred to as aNew Node (NN) to enter a network is to require that a person who isinstalling the NN press a button on the NN and also on one of the nodeswithin the network to which the NN is attempting to gain access. Thisprocedure ensures that only nodes that are being installed by someonewho has physical access to at least one node of the network can gainaccess to the network. Accordingly, a person may press a button (orotherwise cause a trigger to occur, for example via a user interfacedevice, remote control, etc.) within or on the NN. The person may then,for example, be required to walk over to one of the nodes of the networkto which access is sought, and press a button (or otherwise cause atrigger to occur) within or on that node. When one of the nodes withinthe network recognizes that this procedure has been properly followed,one of the nodes of the network may then share the network password withthe NN, thus allowing the NN to communicate with the other nodes of thenetwork. Once the NN has the password, it can then gain admission to thenetwork.

For various communication networks, for example MoCA networks andothers, a secure manner in which new nodes are added to such networkshas either not been established or has been established but isinadequate (e.g., inefficient, non-secure, etc.). Various aspects of thepresent disclosure thus provide systems and methods for securely addingnew nodes to a network (e.g., a premises-based network).

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a NN cansecurely gain access to an existing network (e.g., a network for whichat least two nodes have previously established communication with oneanother in accordance with a network protocol). In addition, variousaspects of the present disclosure allow a NN to establish a new networkwith another node in a secure manner, which other nodes can then join,for example in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosurethat provide for an NN to securely join an existing network.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a NN maybe powered on (or, for example, hard reset, etc.). The NN may then entera listening phase during which the NN attempts to detect a beaconsignal. The beacon signal may, for example, come from a networkcoordinator node of a previously established network. Also for example,the beacon may come from another node that has not been able to findanother node with which to establish a network and is currently seekinga second node with which to form a new network (e.g., a beaconing node).If the NN is triggered by a user prior to detecting a beacon, the NNmay, for example, set a PBState flag to “PUSHED” indicating that the NNwas triggered. The NN may also start a timer or clock (e.g., a walkingtimer) and continue to search until either the timer expires, the NNdetects a beacon, or the NN starts to send beacons while continuing tosearch (e.g., the listening phase ends). The walking timer is set totime out after the amount of time allotted to walk from one node toanother (e.g., to trigger such node) has elapsed.

If the NN detects a beacon prior to the walking time elapsing, then theNN may check whether a PBState flag is set to PUSHED (e.g., indicatingthat a network set-up session is underway, for example a networkprotected set-up). A beacon may, for example, be sent by a networkcoordinator, access point, mesh member, or other type of network node.If the PBState flag is set to PUSHED, then the NN may, for example, senda message (e.g., a Pre-Admission Discovery Request message) to the nodethat sent the beacon. The NN may, for example, identify itself and sendprotected set-up parameters (e.g., MoCA Protected Set-up (MPS)Parameters in a MoCA network scenario) that indicate the privacy statusset within the NN. The NN may then, for example, attempt (or wait) toreceive a response to the sent message (e.g., wait to receive aDiscovery Response message in response to a Discovery Request message).If the NN receives a response (e.g., a Discovery Response message), theresponse may, for example, comprise protected set-up parameters of theresponding node (e.g., MPS Parameters of a MoCA responding node). The NNmay then, for example, check the privacy status of the responding nodebased on the protected set-up parameters received from the respondingnode and determine whether the two nodes are compatible to continue theprocess. If compatible, then the NN may, for example, exchange passwordinformation with the responding node. A decision may, for example, bemade as to whether a password is required to be shared by the NN and theresponding node. If so, a further decision may, for example, be made bythe NN as to whether the NN provides the password to the responding nodeor whether the responding node provides the password to the NN.Alternatively, if the NN and the responding node are not compatible,then the attempt to establish a network between the two nodes may fail.In some cases, however, the NN may be able to gain admission to thenetwork without a password exchange.

If the NN fails to detect a beacon within a predetermined amount of time(e.g., a period of time longer then the walk time, for example asindicated by a variable MPS_(WALK_TIME)), the NN may enter beacon phase.Upon entering the beacon phase, the NN may take on the role of a networkcoordinator (NC), which may also be referred to as a network controller,for example performing beaconing functionality and/or any otherfunctionality associated with a network coordinator). Accordingly,during beacon phase, the NC (formerly the NN) may transmit beaconsignals. If a receiving node is powered on, has been triggered, anddetects the beacon signals transmitted by the NC, then the receivingnode may transmit a message (e.g., a Pre-Admission Discovery Requestmessage in a MoCA scenario). The NC may then send a response (e.g., aDiscovery Response message in a MoCA scenario) that includes protectedset-up parameters of the NC (e.g., MPS Parameters of the NC in a MoCAscenario) and thus indicates the privacy status of the NC. The NC maythen decide whether the privacy status of the two nodes is compatible.If so, the NC may further determine whether an exchange of passwords isnecessary and/or how such an exchange of passwords is to take place.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, when anExisting Node (EN) (e.g., a node that is currently a member of anetwork) is triggered, the EN may ignore the trigger if its managementparameter (e.g., MPS_(EN) in a MoCA scenario) is set to DISABLE, or forexample if a state flag (e.g., a PBState flag in a MoCA scenario) isset, indicating that the EN was previously triggered less than apredetermined time ago. However, if triggered and the managementparameter (e.g., MPS_(EN)) of the EN is set to ENABLE and the state flag(e.g., PBState flag) is not set (or set to CLEAR), then the EN may senda request. In an example MoCA scenario, the request may, for example, besent as an MPS Request Protocol Information Element (IE) within aReservation Request (RR) to the Network Coordinator (NC) that controlsthe network of which the EN is a member.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, in anexample MoCA scenario, an NC that receives a RR with a MPS request maycheck the status of the PBState flag. If the state of the PBState flagis CLEAR, then the PBState flag is set to PUSHED. In addition, aregister called PBNode is loaded with a value that indicates theidentity of the EN that sent the MPS request. A walk timer is thenstarted within the NC. Then, in the next Media Access Plan (MAP), the NCincludes a Network MPS Session Protocol IE indicating that the NCreceived the MPS request and identifying the node that sent the MPSrequest. If the walk timer times out before a Pre-Admission DiscoveryRequest message is received (e.g., from a NN), the MPS session isaborted, the PBState flag is set to CLEAR, and the walk timer is reset.When either the timer expires or the admission of the new node iscomplete or fails, the NC sends a message indicating that the MPSsession has ended.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, thepassword exchange may comprise an M1 Request, an M2 Response, an M2Acknowledge, an M3 Response and an M3 Acknowledge. Also in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure, the password exchangemay comprise transmission of a Discovery Response message with an NCPublic Key Network IE, a Network Password message, and anacknowledgement of each.

FIG. 2 shows an example block diagram of a network node 200, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The node 200may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the MoCA nodes104, 106, 108, and 110 shown in FIG. 1 and discussed herein. The node200 comprises a processor 202, a memory 204 and a radio frequency (RF)front end 206. In the transmit path, the RF front end 206 receivesinformation from the processor 202. The information is modulated onsignals generated by the RF front end 206. The RF front end 206transmits such signals over a medium 208, such as over coaxial cablingused to connect nodes of a MoCA network. In the receive path, the RFfront end 206 also receives signals from the medium 208, demodulates thesignals to retrieve the information communicated by such signals, andpasses the received information to the processor 202 for processing. Itshould be understood that, while the example node 200 shown in FIG. 2 isdescribed with respect to a node connected via coaxial cable, the nodemay be connected to the network over any medium, such as wirelessconnection, twisted pair, optical fiber or any other medium that cantransport signals from node to node.

The processor 202 within the node 200 performs several tasks. Theexample node 200 is shown and described as having a single processor 202that performs all of the disclosed tasks and functions of the node 200.Nonetheless, it should be understood that the disclosed tasks andfunctions of the node 200 can be performed by any combination ofhardware, firmware and software. Furthermore, any software or firmwarecan be executed by one or a combination of several independent orcoordinated processors. For example, in various example implementations,it may be more efficient to use processors dedicated to performing aparticular task or group of tasks. Also for example, the processor 202(or processors) may comprise any of a variety of processing circuits(e.g., general purpose processors, microcontrollers,application-specific integrated circuits, programmable state machinedevices, analog and/or digital circuitry, etc.). Such architecturalvariations are understood. Accordingly, the details of sucharchitectures are not provided herein for the sake of brevity andillustrative clarity.

As mentioned previously, various aspects of the present disclosure mayherein be presented in the context of a MoCA network. It should beunderstood, however, that the scope of this disclosure is not limited tomethods and apparatus of a MoCA network.

In accordance various aspects of the present disclosure, the node 200may perform in one of at least three distinct roles, non-limitingexamples of which are provided herein. Furthermore, the particular roletaken on by the node 200 may depend upon the tasks the node 200 isperforming and the environment in which the node 200 exists. In anexample implementation, the node 200 is powered on (e.g., power isinitially applied to the node to start the node 200 operating), the node200 is subjected to a hard reset causing state information to be lost,etc. When initially powered on, the node 200 is unpaired. For example,the node 200 has no affiliation with any network. Also, in accordancewith an example implementation, the node 200 may have a number ofdefault settings that are relevant to the disclosed method andapparatus. For example, a privacy setting referred to as PRIVACY_(EN)may be initially set to DISABLED. In addition, there may for example bea plurality of parameters that are associated with the MoCA ProtectedSet-up (MPS) function of the node 200. Four example parameters comprise:

-   -   MPS_(EN): Initialized to ENABLED.    -   MPS_(PRIVACY_RECEIVE): Initialized to ENABLED.    -   MPS_(PRIVACY_DOWN): Initialized to DISABLED.    -   MPS_(WALK_TIME): Initialized to 2 minutes.

Initially, the node 200 may operate in the role of New Node (NN). Forexample, when the node 200 is initially turned on, it may enter a“Listening Phase”. In the Listening Phase, the node 200 may, forexample, attempt to detect (or listen for) a beacon signal. For example,the RF front end 206, under the control of the processor 202, may searchfor a beacon signal transmitted by another node that is operating on themedium 208 to which the node 200 is connected. If the node 200 does notdetect a beacon within a predetermined amount of time, the node 200 maythen enter a “Beacon Phase”. In the Beacon Phase, the node 200 may, forexample, transmit beacons for a period of time and also listen to seewhether another node operating on the medium has detected and respondedto the transmitted beacons. The Listening Phase/Beacon Phase sequencemay, for example, be repeated multiple times.

Once the node 200 joins a network (e.g., through a process illustratedby example herein), the node 200 operates in the role of Existing Node(EN). In accordance with the various aspects of the present disclosure,at least one node in each network generally assumes the role of NetworkCoordinator (NC). The NC may, for example, be responsible for schedulingmost or all of the traffic on the network. Additional examples regardingthe role of NC are provided herein. In accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure, the node 200 may operate in accordance withthe MoCA standard.

FIG. 3 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes (e.g., between nodes of a network and/ornodes to be part of a network), in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure. For example, FIG. 3 provides an illustration ofvarious functions and tasks performed by a node when operating in eachof the three example roles (e.g., NN, EN and NC). Note that in FIG. 3,as an initial condition, a network has already been formed by an NC 302and an EN 304. The diagram of FIG. 3 shows time flowing from the top ofthe diagram to the bottom, with horizontal arrows 310-330, arrows thatare closer to the top of the diagram depicting communications that occurbefore communications depicted by arrows that are closer to the bottomof the diagram. Furthermore, the horizontal arrows indicate acommunication in the direction of the arrow between nodes 302, 304, and306.

The first event shown is a user pressing an MPS button 332 on the EN 304with MPS enabled (e.g., the MPS_(EN) parameter of the EN 304 is set toENABLE). The user pressing the MPS button on the EN 304 results in theEN 304 sending an MPS Request Protocol Information Element (PIE) 310within a Reservation Request (RR) message. In an example implementation,the RR conforms to reservation requests sent in accordance with the MoCAstandard, but the scope of various aspects of this disclosure is notlimited thereto. TABLE 1 shows an example format of the MPS Request PIE.

TABLE 1 MPS Request PIE Format Field Length Explanation FRAME_SUBTYPE 4bits 0x6 - MoCA 2 Operation FRAME_TYPE 4 bits 0x7 - Protocol IEIE_LENGTH 6 bits =0 RESERVED 2 bits Type III Protocol IE Payload TYPE 4bits 0xTBD - MPS Request from an EN RESERVED 12 bits  Type III

Note that “0x” indicates that the value that follows is in hexadecimalformat. Accordingly, the value 0x6 is equal to 0110 in binary format;the value 0x7 is equal to 0111 in binary format, etc. TBD indicates thatthe value is yet to be determined (e.g., the field is not yet assignedto carry any particular value). Any value that is not already assignedmay be assigned for use in the future. Furthermore, it should beunderstood that each of the fields can be assigned to any value that hasnot previously been assigned to another function.

In response to the MPS request PIE 310 in the RR message, the processor202 within the NC 302 checks the status of the local parameter PBState.For the sake of brevity, throughout this disclosure it should be assumedthat when functions are disclosed as being performed by a node, theprocessor 202 within the node, for example alone or in conjunction withother circuitry, is generally responsible for performing the function(e.g., data analysis function, decision function, data determiningfunction, transmitting and/or receiving control function, etc.).

If the value of the local parameter PBState is CLEAR, the NC 302 updatesthe value of the local parameter PBState to PUSHED. In addition, the NC302 sets the local parameter PBNode to the Node ID of the EN 304 thatsent the MPS Request PIE 310. In an example implementation, the Node IDof the EN 304 is included in the RR message sent by the EN 304. The NC302 may also start a timer (e.g., an MPS walk timer). In an exampleimplementation, in the next MAP message to be transmitted by the NC 302,the NC 302 includes a Network MPS Session Protocol IE 312 with theparameter CODE set to 0x0 and the parameter REQUESTING_NODE_ID set tothe value of the parameter PBNode. TABLE 2 shows an example format ofthe MPS Response PIE 312 (e.g., the Network MPS Session PIE).

TABLE 2 Network MPS Session PIE format Field Length ExplanationFRAME_SUBTYPE 4 bits 0x6 - MoCA 2 Operation FRAME_TYPE 4 bits 0x7 -Protocol IE IE_LENGTH 6 bits =0 RESERVED 2 bits Type III Protocol IEPayload TYPE 4 bits 0xTBD - Network MPS Session CODE 4 bits 0x0 -Network MPS session start. 0x1 - Network MPS session stop. Other valuesreserved. REQUESTING_NODE_ID 8 bits The ID of the Node that the responseis responding to

Alternatively, if the value of the parameter PBNode is PUSHED, then theNC 302 checks whether the value of the parameter PBNode is equal to thevalue of the Node ID of the EN 304 that sent the MPS Request PIE 310. Ifso, then the NC 302 had previously received an MPS request from this EN302. Accordingly, the NC 302 may ignore the received MPS request.However, in an example implementation, if the value of PBNode isdifferent from the Node ID of the EN 304 that sent the MPS Request PIE310, then the NC 302 may reset the walk timer and set the value of theparameter PBState to CLEAR. Accordingly, if a user triggers more thanone EN, the second EN trigger may cause the MPS session to end. A newsession might then, for example, only occur if the user activates athird trigger. The NC may, for example, end the session by sending a PIEwith CODE equal to 0x1 in the next MAP message after the second triggerfrom the different EN.

Similarly, if the walk timer expires (runs for longer than the allottedtime) before the NC 302 receives a Pre-Admission Discovery Requestmessage from an NN 306, then the NC 302 may set the parameter PBState toCLEAR and reset the walk timer. In addition, the NC 302 may send an MPSSession Protocol IE having the field CODE set to 0x1 in the next MAPmessage.

If the user triggers the NN 306 and the local management parameterMPS_(EN) of the NN is ENABLED 334, the NN 306 may send a Pre-AdmissionDiscovery Request message comprising an MPS Request Network IE 314.TABLE 3 shows an example format of the MPS Request Network IE 314.

TABLE 3 MPS Request Network IE Format Field Length Value IE Header TYPE8 bits 0x08- MPS Request Network IE LENGTH 8 bits 0x02 IE PayloadRESERVED 12 bits  Type III MPS_PARAMETERS 4 bits Bit 3 - Reserved Bit2 - Privacy. reflects the value of ActivePrivacyEN 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 =Enabled Bit 1 - Receive Privacy. If PairedState = unPaired: reflects thevalue of the Node's MPS_(PRIVACY) _(—) _(RECEIVE) 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 =Enabled Is set to 0b0 if the PairedState = Paired. Bit 0 = DowngradePrivacy. If Bit 1 is set to 0b1: reflects the value of the Node'sMPS_(PRIVACY) _(—) _(DOWN) 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 = Enabled Reserved TypeIII when Bit 1 = 0b0. GUID 64 bits  64 bit MAC address of the device

In response to the Discovery Request message comprising the MPS RequestNetwork IE 314, the NC 302 may schedule an Admission Control Frame (ACF)slot in the next beacon during which the NC 302 transmits aPre-Admission Discovery Response message comprising an MPS ResponseNetwork IE 316 to the NN 302. TABLE 4 shows an example format of the MPSResponse Network IE 316.

TABLE 4 MPS Response Network IE Format Field Length Value IE Header TYPE8 bits 0x09- MPS Response Network IE LENGTH 8 bits 0x02 IE PayloadNODE_ID 8 bits The ID of the NC CODE 4 bits 0x0 - MPS is disabled or nottriggered. 0x1 - Network MPS is triggered. Other values reserved.MPS_PARAMETERS 4 bits When CODE = 0x1: Bit 3 - Reserved Bit 2 - Privacy0b0 = Disabled 0b1 = Enabled Bit 1 - Receive Privacy 0b0 = Disabled 0b1= Enabled Bit 0 = Downgrade Privacy 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 = EnabledReserved Type III when Bit 1 = 0b0. Otherwise: Reserved Type IIIREQUESTING_NODE_GUID 64 bits  This field is copied from the MPS RequestNetwork IE that this response is responding to.

In this example, the NC 302 sets the CODE field to 0x1, since thePBState of the NC is PUSHED. It should be noted that the PBState was setto PUSHED in response to the NC 302 receiving the RR message from the EN304 indicating that the EN 304 was triggered. Alternatively, the PBStatemay also be set to PUSHED if the NC is locally triggered. When the CODEfield of the MPS Response Network IE 316 is set to 0x1 (e.g., when theNC 302 has either been triggered itself or has received an MPS requestPIE indicating that an EN 304 has been triggered) the NC 302 may resetthe walk timer. In addition, the status of various MPS Parameters may,for example, be provided by the NC 302 in the MPS Response Network IE316 of the Discovery Response message. Three example MPS Parameters are(1) Privacy; (2) Receive Privacy; and (3) Downgrade Privacy. The valuesof these three example MPS Parameters within the NN 306 (transmitted tothe NC 302 in the MPS Request Network IE 314 of the Discovery Requestmessage), taken together with the values of the MPS Parameters withinthe NC 302, determine whether, and how, the nodes will exchangepasswords. However, if the NC 302 is in a network, the Privacy parametermay indicate whether the network has privacy enabled or disabled. Inthis example case, Receive Privacy and Downgrade Privacy will be set toDISABLE.

These three example MPS parameters (e.g., Privacy) may, for example,indicate the privacy status of the node. It should be understood thatwhen a node is operating as the NC of a network (e.g., there is at leastone other EN in the network) and MPS is ENABLED, the node may beconsidered to be “PAIRED”. Accordingly, the node may maintain aparameter PairedState set to PAIRED. In an example implementation, whena node is PAIRED, privacy of the node is set to the privacy of thenetwork. In addition, no change to the node privacy can occur. Moregenerally, a Node may be considered PAIRED if it either formed or joineda network (completed admission) at any time since the last time itsstate was set to un-Paired. Once the parameter PairedState is set toPAIRED, the parameter may for example remain in this state until themanagement entity resets the nodes MPS using MPS_(RESET). If themanagement entity for a node resets PairedState to UNPAIRED, the nodeshould update the parameter immediately, even if the node is currentlyin a network. The parameter should then remain in the UNPAIRED stateuntil the node drops off the network.

The first of the three example parameters may, for example, indicatewhether the node requires privacy. In an example implementation, if anNN 306 requires privacy, then the NN 306 can only join a network if thenetwork has privacy enabled. However, the third example parameter(Downgrade Privacy), when enabled, may allow the NN 306 to enter anetwork for which privacy is disabled. For example, by allowing an NN todowngrade its privacy, the user can add the NN to the network withouthaving to know the network password. Rather, the user may rely on theMPS procedure to ensure that the NN is entering a network of which theuser approves.

The second of the three example parameters is Receive Privacy. Whenenabled, this parameter allows a node to receive the network passwordfrom another node. In addition, when enabled, the node state of theActivePrivacyEN parameter can be changed during the MPS process. Itshould be understood that when a node is operating as the NC of anetwork (e.g., there is at least one other EN in the network), thepassword may be determined on a network wide basis. For example, in anexample implementation, the NC 302 of a previously formed network cannotreceive a password from another node. For example, once the password fora network has been established, it cannot be changed by an incoming NN.Accordingly, in an example implementation, the Receive Privacy parameteris always set to DISABLED when a node is admitted into a network (e.g.,once the PairedStatus is set to PAIRED).

TABLE 5 provides an example MPS decision matrix that indicates theaction to be taken by the network nodes 302, 304, 306, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. These actions are basedon the values of the MPS Parameters sent by the NC 302 in the MPSResponse Network IE 316 of the Discovery Response message and the MPSParameters sent by the NN 306 in the MPS Request Network IE 314 of theDiscovery Request message.

TABLE 5 MPS Decision Matrix MPS_PARAMETERS Sent by NC MPS_PARAMETERSSent by NN Bit 1 Bit 0 Bit 1 Bit 0 Bit 2 (Receive (Downgrade Bit 2(Receive (Downgrade (Privacy) Privacy) Privacy) (Privacy) Privacy)Privacy) Decision DISABLED N/A N/A DISABLED N/A N/A Node PrivacyAdmission DISABLED DISABLED N/A ENABLED DISABLED N/A FAILED DISABLEDDISABLED N/A ENABLED ENABLED DISABLED FAILED DISABLED DISABLED N/AENABLED ENABLED ENABLED NC: Node Privacy Admission, NN: No PrivacyAdmission N/A ENABLED N/A ENABLED DISABLED N/A NN to NC PSWD ExchangeDISABLED ENABLED N/A ENABLED N/A N/A NN to NC PSWD Exchange ENABLEDDISABLED N/A DISABLED DISABLED N/A FAILED ENABLED DISABLED N/A ENABLEDDISABLED N/A Node Privacy Admission ENABLED N/A N/A N/A ENABLED N/A NCto NN PSWD Exchange ENABLED ENABLED DISABLED DISABLED DISABLED N/AFAILED ENABLED ENABLED ENABLED DISABLED DISABLED N/A NC: No PrivacyAdmission, NN: Node Privacy Admission ENABLED ENABLED ENABLED ENABLEDDISABLED N/A NN to NC PSWD Exchange

There are six example decisions in the example MPS Decision Matrix ofTABLE 5. The first example decision is that the NC sends a password tothe NN (e.g., a password exchange from NC to NN). This occurs when, forexample, the NC Privacy is ENABLED and the NN Receive Privacy isENABLED. For example, when the NC has privacy enabled, it sends itspassword, and the NN can receive the password when NN Receive Privacy isENABLED. In this case, none of the other MPS Parameters matter.

The second example decision is an NN to NC password exchange. In thiscase, Privacy in the NN 306 is ENABLED and Receive Privacy is ENABLED inthe NC 302. Additionally, either the NN Receive Privacy is DISABLED orthe NC Privacy is DISABLED. Alternatively, this may occur if all threeparameters sent by the NC 302 are set to ENABLE, Privacy in the NN 306is set to ENABLE and Privacy Receive in the NN is set to DISABLE. Forexample, in an example implementation, if an exchange from the NC to NNcan occur, that exchange is favored over an NN to NC exchange.Therefore, if the NC Privacy is ENABLED and the NN Privacy Receive isENABLED, the status of the NN Privacy and the NC Privacy Receive do notmatter. In each other case in which the NN Privacy is ENABLED and the NCPrivacy Receive is ENABLED, a password exchange from the NN to the NCwill take place. It should be noted that, in an example implementation,the NC will only have Privacy Receive set to ENABLED when the NC is inbeacon phase and the PairedStatus is set to UNPAIRED. Once thePairedStatus is set to PAIRED, the Privacy Receive state is set toDISABLED, since a paired node cannot change its password.

The third example decision is Node Privacy Admission. In this case, nopassword exchange occurs, but the admission process takes place usingthe NN's and NC's ActivePrivacyEN and ActivePSWD parameter settings. Inone example case, both the NC 302 and the NN 306 have Privacy DISABLED.Therefore, there is no need to exchange security information. In analternative example case, Privacy is ENABLED in both NC and the NN, butReceive Privacy is DISABLED in both, so no downgrade is possible.Nonetheless, since the Privacy in both the NC and NN agree, theadmission process can go forward without a password exchange.

The fourth example decision is NC: No Privacy Admission/NN: Node PrivacyAdmission. In this case, Privacy is ENABLED in the NC, but the DowngradePrivacy parameter in the NC 302 is also ENABLED, allowing the NC todowngrade its privacy to operate with an NN that has Privacy DISABLEDand Receive Privacy set to DISABLED. Therefore, the NC ActivePrivacyENparameter is set to DISABLED, while the PRIVACY_(EN) parameter remainsENABLED. It should be noted that each node has both an ActivePrivacyENparameter and a PRIVACY_(EN) parameter. The ActivePrivacyEN parametercan be changed through the MPS process if MPS Privacy_(down) parameteris ENABLED. In addition, the ActivePrivacy_(EN) parameter can changefrom DISABLED to ENABLED if Privacy Receive is set to ENABLED.

The fifth example decision is similar to the fourth example decision. Inthis case, NN: No Privacy Admission/NC: Node Privacy Admission. Thisoccurs, for example, if the NN Privacy is ENABLED, the Downgrade Privacyparameter in the NN 306 is also ENABLED, the NN Receive Privacy is setto ENABLED, and the NC Privacy and Receive Privacy are set to DISABLED.Accordingly, the NN can downgrade and set the ActivePrivacyEN parameterto DISABLED, thereby allowing the admission process to go forward withan NC that has privacy set to DISABLED.

It should be noted that Node Privacy Admission does not require adowngrade in the state of the ActivePrivacyEN. In contrast, No PrivacyAdmission occurs when a downgrade to the privacy is necessary, thussetting the value of ActivePrivacyEN to DISABLED while the value ofPRIVACY_(EN) remains ENABLED.

The sixth example decision is FAILED. There are four example instancesin the Matrix of TABLE 5 when the MPS admission process will fail. Inthe first example instance, both the Privacy and Receive Privacyparameters in the NC 302 are DISABLED. In addition, the PrivacyParameter in the NN is ENABLED and the status of Receive Privacy is setto DISABLED. Because the state of Receive Privacy in the NN is DISABLED,the NN cannot downgrade the Privacy. Therefore, it is not possible forthe NN to complete the admission process.

In the second example instance, both the NC Privacy and Receive Privacyparameters are DISABLED. However, Privacy is set to ENABLED in the NN.The Receive Privacy in the NN is set to ENABLED, but downgrade isDISABLED in the NN. Therefore, the NN cannot complete the admissionprocess.

In the third example instance, the MPS parameters sent by the NC havePrivacy set to ENABLED and Receive Privacy set to DISABLED. The NN hasPrivacy set to DISABLED, and Receive Privacy set to DISABLED, therefore,the NN cannot complete the admission process. The Receive Privacy in theNN is set to DISABLED, therefore no downgrade is possible.

In the fourth example instance, the MPS parameters sent by the NC havePrivacy set to ENABLED and Receive Privacy set to ENABLED, but DowngradePrivacy is set to DISABLED. The NN has Privacy set to DISABLED andReceive Privacy set to DISABLED. Therefore, as noted above, the NNcannot change its Privacy setting to enter the secure network.

Looking once again at FIG. 3, after sending the MPS Response Network IE316 in the Discovery Response message, if the decision from TABLE 5indicates that a password exchange is to take place, the NC 302 may, forexample, schedule an ACF slot in the next beacon with the ACF_TYPE fieldset to 0x0F and the ADDITIONAL_ACF-TYPE field set to 0x20. The NC 302may then wait to receive a Get Privacy Setting Request M1 message 318from the NN 306 in the ACF slot. If, for any reason, the passwordexchange is not completed successfully, both the NC 302 and the NN 306may set the PBState to CLEAR, and the NC 302 may send a Network MPSSession Protocol IE in a MAP with CODE set to 0x1 ending the MPSsession. The NC 302 may then resume normal operation. The NN 306 shouldthen, for example, continue searching for a network.

The format of an example Get Privacy Setting Request M1 message 318 isprovided in TABLE 6.

TABLE 6 Get Privacy Setting Request M1 Message Format Field Length UsageMPDU Header TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduled timederived from the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits0x7 - Get Privacy Setting Request M1 PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Linkcontrol II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits TheNC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bitsDESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total lengthof the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding the MPDU header).MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type III reserved.HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - is calculated overthe MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock field and ending with(including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS iscalculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload DH_M1 1664 bits N1∥ PK_(NN), where N1 and PK_(NN) where PK_(NN) Diffie-Hellman Public Keyof the NN and N1: a 128-bit secret random number (nonce) generated bythe NN GUID 64 bits 64 bit MAC address of the requesting node PayloadFCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management and Control MPDUs, andfor the Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS is calculated usingCRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 +x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 +x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflexover ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS iscalculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflexover ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDUheader FCS.

If the NC 302 does not receive the Get Privacy Setting Request M1Message 318 from the NN, it may schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slotwith ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x02 and retransmit thePre-Admission Discovery Response message 316 with the MPS ResponseNetwork IE in the ACF slot. In the following Beacon the NC 302 may thenschedule another ACF slot for the Get Privacy Setting Request M1 message318 from the NN 306. The NC 302 may, for example, repeat theretransmission of the Discovery Response message with MPS ResponseNetwork IE 316 and rescheduling of the Get Privacy Setting Request M1Message 318 until it either receives the Get Privacy Setting Request M1Message 318 from the NN 306 or it completes a predetermined number ofrepetitions. If, after the predetermined number of repetitions, the NC302 has not received the Get Privacy Setting Request M1 Message 318, theNC 302 may then abort the MPS password exchange.

Upon reception of the Get Privacy Setting Request M1 Message 318, the NC302 may schedule an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x21 and transmit a Get Privacy Setting Response M2Message 320 to the NN 306. The format of an example Get Privacy SettingResponse M2 message 320 is given by TABLE 7.

TABLE 7 Get Privacy Setting Response M2 Message Format Field LengthUsage MPDU Header TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduledtime derived from the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits0x8 - Get Privacy Setting Response M2 PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Linkcontrol II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits TheNC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bitsDESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total lengthof the MPDU frame body in byes (excluding the MPDU header).MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type III reserved.HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - is calculated overthe MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock field and ending with(including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS iscalculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload DH_M2 1664 bits N2∥PK_(NC), where N2 and PK_(NC) where PK_(NC): Diffie-Hellman Public Keyof the NC and N2: a 128-bit secret random number (nonce) generated bythe NC. Payload FCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management andControl MPDUs, and for the Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS iscalculated using CRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 +x{circumflex over ( )}26 + x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over( )}22 + x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 +x{circumflex over ( )}11 + x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over( )}8 + x{circumflex over ( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflexover ( )}4 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-headerthe 16-bit FCS is calculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), thesame as for the MPDU header FCS.

After transmitting the Get Privacy Setting Response M2 message 320, theNC 302 may, for example, schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot withACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x22. The NN 306 may thenacknowledge the reception of M2 Response message 320 by sending a GetPrivacy Setting Response ACK message 322. The format of an example ACKmessage 322 is shown in TABLE 8.

TABLE 8 Get Privacy Setting Response Ack Message Format Field LengthUsage MPDU Header TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduledtime derived from the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits0xA - Get Privacy Setting Response Ack PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Linkcontrol II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits TheNC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bitsDESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total lengthof the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding the MPDU header).MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type III reserved.HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - is calculated overthe MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock field and ending with(including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS iscalculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload RESERVED 31 bitsType III Payload FCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management andControl MPDUs, and for the Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS iscalculated using CRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 +x{circumflex over ( )}26 + x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over( )}22 + x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 +x{circumflex over ( )}11 + x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over( )}8 + x{circumflex over ( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflexover ( )}4 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-headerthe 16-bit FCS is calculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), thesame as for the MPDU header FCS.

If the NC 302 does not receive the Get Privacy Setting Response ACK 322from the NN 306, it may schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot withACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x21 and retransmit the GetPrivacy Setting Request M2 message 320 in the ACF slot. In the followingBeacon the NC 302 may then schedule another ACF slot for the Get PrivacySetting Response ACK 322 from the NN 306. The NC may, for example,repeat the retransmission of the Get Privacy Setting Request M2 message320 and the rescheduling of the Get Privacy Setting Response ACK 322until it either receives the ACK 322 from the NN 306 or it completes apredetermined number of repetitions. If, after the predetermined numberof repetitions, the NC 302 has not received the ACK 322, the NC 302 mayabort the MPS password exchange.

If the Decision from TABLE 5 is to perform an NC to NN passwordexchange, then upon receiving the Get Privacy Setting Response ACKmessage 322, the NC 302 transmits a Get Privacy Setting Response M3message 324 to the NN 306 at least a predetermined time (e.g., in anexample implementation, equal to a parameter T_(MPS_KEY_GEN)) after theNC 302 receives the ACK message 322. The Get Privacy Setting Response M3message 324 is transmitted in an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x23. An example format of the Get Privacy SettingResponse M3 message 324 is shown in TABLE 9.

TABLE 9 Get Privacy Setting Response M3 Message Format Field LengthUsage MPDU Header TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduledtime derived from the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits0x9 - Get Privacy Setting Response M3 PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Linkcontrol II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits TheNC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bitsDESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total lengthof the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding the MPDU header).MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type III reserved.HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - is calculated overthe MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock field and ending with(including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS iscalculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload DH_M3 328 bits IV∥ENC_(MPSKey)(Password)∥ HMAC_(DHKey)(M1∥M2∥DH_M3*)(M1∥M2∥DH_M3*) whereIV is a constant string (32 replications of 0xA concatenated),ENC_(MPSKey)(Password) is the encrypted Password which is calculated,and DH_M3*(=IV ∥ ENC_(MPSKey)(Password)) is the authenticator attribute.RESERVED 8 bits Type III Payload FCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all theManagement and Control MPDUs, and for the Ethernet data packet, the32-bit FCS is calculated using CRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 + x{circumflex over ( )}23 +x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 + x{circumflex over ( )}10 +x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over ( )}7 + x{circumflex over( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + x + 1). Forthe A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS is calculated using the CRC-16(x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDU header FCS.

After transmitting the Get Privacy Setting Response M3 message 324, theNC 302 may, for example, schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot withACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x22. The NN 306 may thenacknowledge the reception of the M3 message 324 by sending a Get PrivacySetting Response ACK message 326. An example format of the Get PrivacySetting Response ACK message 326 is shown in TABLE 10.

TABLE 10 Get Privacy Setting Response Ack Message Format Field LengthUsage MPDU Header TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduledtime derived from the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits0xA - Get Privacy Setting Response Ack PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Linkcontrol II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits TheNC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bitsDESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total lengthof the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding the MPDU header).MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type III reserved.HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - is calculated overthe MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock field and ending with(including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS iscalculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload RESERVED 31 bitsType III Payload FCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management andControl MPDUs, and for the Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS iscalculated using CRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 +x{circumflex over ( )}26 + x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over( )}22 + x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 +x{circumflex over ( )}11 + x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over( )}8 + x{circumflex over ( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflexover ( )}4 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-headerthe 16-bit FCS is calculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), thesame as for the MPDU header FCS.

The NN 306 may, for example, use the new password it received from theNC 302 for network admission. The NN 306 may also report the parameterACTIVE_PSWD=the new password to the management entity of the NN 306 andthe parameter ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN)=Enabled if PRIVACY_(EN) is configuredas DISABLED by the management entity.

If the NC 302 does not receive the Get Privacy Setting Response ACKmessage 326 from the NN 306, the NC 302 may schedule in the next Beaconan ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x21 andretransmit the Get Privacy Setting Request M3 message 324 message in theACF slot. In the following beacon, the NC 302 may then schedule anotherACF slot for the Get Privacy Setting Response ACK message 326 from theNN 306. The NC 302 may, for example, repeat the retransmission of theGet Privacy Setting Request M3 message 324 and the rescheduling of theGet Privacy Setting Response ACK message 326 until it either receivesthe ACK 326 from the NN 306 or it completes a predetermined number ofrepetitions. If after the predetermined number of repetitions the NC 302has not received the ACK 326, the NC 302 may abort the MPS passwordexchange.

If the Decision of TABLE 5 is to perform an NN to NC password exchange,then upon receiving the Get Privacy Setting Response ACK message 322,the NC 302 may schedule an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x24. In accordance with an example implementation,the slot is scheduled for at least a value indicated by a variableTMPS_KEY_GEN after the NC 302 receives the ACK message 322. The NN 306may then transmit a Get Privacy Setting Response M3 message 328 in thescheduled ACF slot. An example format of the Get Privacy SettingResponse M3 message 328 is shown in TABLE 9.

If the NC 302 does not receive the Get Privacy Setting Response M3message 328 from the NN 306, the NC 302 may schedule another ACF slotfor the M3 message from the NN 306 in the next Beacon. If, afterrescheduling the Get Privacy Setting Response M3 message 328 apredetermined number of times, the NC 302 has not received the M3message 328 from the NN 306, the NC 302 may abort the MPS passwordexchange.

After receiving the Get Privacy Setting Request M3 message 328, the NC302 may transmit a Get Privacy Setting Response ACK message 330 in thenext ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x25 toacknowledge the reception of M3 message 328. An example format of theACK message 330 is shown in TABLE 10. The NC 302 may then, for example,start to use the new Privacy setting for network admission. The NC 302may also report the parameter ACTIVE_PSWD=the new password to themanagement entity of the NC 302 and the parameterACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN)=Enabled if PRIVACY_(EN) is configured as DISABLED bythe management entity.

Various example messages discussed herein may comprise Diffie-Hellmansecurity information, non-limiting examples of which are presentedherein. It should be noted that any of a variety of alternative types ofsecurity information may be communicated without departing from thescope of this disclosure.

In accordance with an example implementation, the following parametersand notations are defined for the Diffie-Hellman Exchange:

-   -   “A” is a secret number randomly selected by NN.    -   “B” is a secret number randomly selected by the NC.    -   “g” is a generator for the Diffie-Hellman exchange. The value g        is known to the public.    -   “P” is a prime for the Diffie-Hellman exchange. The value of P        is known to the public.    -   “N1” is a 128-bit secret random number (“nonce”) generated by        the NN.    -   “N2” is a 128-bit secret random number (“nonce”) generated by        the NC.    -   “PK_(NN)” is a Diffie-Hellman Public Key of the NN.    -   “PK_(N)c” is a Diffie-Hellman Public Key of the NC.    -   “DHKey” is a Diffie-Hellman Shared Key.    -   “MPSKey” is an authentication key derived from DHKey, the nonces        N1 and N2, and the NN's MAC address.    -   “∥” denotes a concatenation operation.

In an example implementation in which the nodes are MoCA nodes operatingin accordance with MoCA 2.1, the MPS operation uses 1536-bit ModularExponential (MODP) Group for Diffie-Hellman Exchange.

The prime n p is: 2{circumflex over ( )}1536−2{circumflex over( )}1472−1+2{circumflex over ( )}64*{[2{circumflex over ( )}1406pi]+741804}. Its hexadecimal value is:

FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF C90FDAA2 2168C234 C4C6628B 80DC1CD1 29024E08 8A67CC74020BBEA6 3B139B22 514A0879 8E3404DD EF9519B3 CD3A431B 302B0A6D F25F14374FE1356D 6D51C245 E485B576 625E7EC6 F44C42E9 A637ED6B 0BFF5CB6 F406B7EDEE386BFB 5A899FA5 AE9F2411 7C4B1FE6 49286651 ECE45B3D C2007CB8 A163BF0598DA4836 1C55D39A 69163FA8 FD24CF5F 83655D23 DCA3AD96 1C62F356 208552BB9ED52907 7096966D 670C354E 4ABC9804 F1746C08 CA237327 FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF

The generator g is 2.

In accordance with an example implementation, the NN and NC randomlygenerate the secret values A and B, respectively. In one such exampleimplementation, A and B are at least 3072 bits. The Diffie-HellmanPublic Keys are calculated as:PK_(NN) =g ^(A) mod p and PK_(NC) =g ^(B) mod p.

In an example implementation, the NN and the NC randomly generate thenonces N1 and N2 and exchange their nonces as well as the Diffie HellmanPublic Keys. The NN then calculates the Diffie-Hellman Shared Key as:DHKey=SHA-256(PK_(NC) ^(A) mod p).

The NC calculates the Diffie-Hellman Shared Key as:DHKey=SHA-256(PK_(NN) ^(B) mod p).

Both the NN and the NC calculate the MPS Key as:MPS_(Key)=the first 128 bits of HMAC-SHA-256(DHKey,N1∥NNMAC∥N2),

where NNMAC is the 6-byte MAC address of the NN.

In accordance with an example implementation in which the networkoperates in accordance with MoCA, the Network Password length is 12 to17 decimal digitals (96˜136 bits). In an alternative exampleimplementation, the password may be longer. To encrypt a Password duringa MPS session, the sender of the Password first appends zeros to the endof the Password to make it 136 bits and then encrypt it using AES-128with MPS_(key) as the key.

FIG. 4 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In the example of FIG. 4, each node, NN 406, EN 404,NC 402, may for example maintain the following local variables inaddition to those that a node would normally maintain (e.g., inaccordance with its operating protocol, for example the MoCA 2.0specification). Similar to the example shown in FIG. 3, in the exampleshown in FIG. 4, each node may maintain a PBState local variable, aPairedState local variable, an ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) configurationparameter, an ACTIVE_PSWD configuration parameter and a PBNode localvariable. However, in addition to such example local variables, nodesoperating in accordance with the example aspects shown in FIG. 4 mayalso maintain an MPSReqRx local variable and a PBNewNode local variable.The MPSReqRx local variable may, for example, be set to either “YES” or“NO”. Initially, the value may be set to NO. The value may then be setto YES under the example conditions indicated below. The value of thePBNewNode local variable may, for example, be set to indicate theGlobally Unique Identifier (GUID) of an NN sending an MPS RequestNetwork IE to an NC when MPSReqRx is set to NO. This example isdescribed in more detail herein.

The following may, for example, apply to an NN 406 in one of thefollowing example states. In a first example state, the NN 406 has beenrecently powered up, but has not yet either joined a network or moved tothe Beacon Phase. The Beacon Phase may, for example, be the state inwhich the node starts to send out beacons in an attempt to form a newnetwork. In a second example state, the NN 406 is in the Beacon Phase,and the NN 406 is not sending a beacon nor attempting to admit anothernode to form a network.

In this case, in an example implementation, if an MPS triggering eventoccurs (e.g., the user pushes the MPS button on the NN 406) with the NNMPS enabled, the NN 406 may check the state of the PBState localvariable. If the PBState local variable has been set to PUSHED (notshown in FIG. 4), then the NN 406 will ignore the triggering event.However, if the value of the local variable PBState has not been set toPUSHED (e.g., the variable is set to CLEAR) 408, then the NN 406 willset the PBState local variable to PUSHED, start an MPS timer (e.g., awalk timer), and start or restart its network search process. If thetimer reaches MPS_(WALK_TIME), then the NN 406 may set the localvariable PBState to CLEAR and reset the MPS timer.

If, however, the NN 406 detects a beacon from the NC 402 prior to thetimer reaching MPS_(WALK_TIME), and PBState is equal to CLEAR (acondition not shown in FIG. 4), then the NN 406 may assume that there iscurrently no MPS session in progress. Accordingly, the NN 406 mayperform node admission in a conventional manner. If during the nodeadmission process with PBState equal to CLEAR, an MPS trigger eventoccurs, the NN 406 may abort the admission process and restart thenetwork search (not shown in FIG. 4).

Alternatively, if the local variable PBState of the NN 406 is set toPUSHED when the NN 406 detects a beacon 410, then the NN 406 may waitfor a beacon 412 that schedules an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE equal to 0x0Fand ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE equal to 0x20. If a beacon 412 is received thathas scheduled the anticipated ACF slot with ACF_TYPE equal to 0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE equal to 0x20 within a predetermined amount of time,the NN 406 may, during that ACF slot, send a Pre-Admission DiscoveryRequest message with an MPS Request Network IE 414 having the exampleformat indicated by TABLE 12.

TABLE 12 MPS Request Network IE Format Field Length Value IE Header TYPE8 bits 0x09- MPS Request Network IE LENGTH 8 bits 0x0E IE PayloadRESERVED 12 bits Type III MPS_PARAMETERS 4 bits Bit 2 - Privacy. MUSTreflect the value of ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 = EnabledBit 1 - Receive Privacy. If PairedState = un- Paired: MUST reflect thevalue of the Node's MPS_(PRIVACY) _(—) _(RECEIVE) 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 =Enabled MUST be set to 0b0 if the PairedState = Paired. Bit 0 -Downgrade Privacy. If Bit 1 is set to 0b1: MUST reflect the value of theNode's MPS_(PRIVACY) _(—) _(DOWN) 0b0 = Disabled 0b1 = Enabled ReservedType III when Bit 1 = 0b0. GUID 64 bits 64 bit MAC address of the deviceECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_X 256 bits x coordinate of Public key ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_Y256 bits y coordinate of Public key

The NN 406 will load the NN's MPS parameters into the MPS_PARAMETERfield. The GUID field will carry the GUID of the NN 406. In addition,the ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_X field will carry the value of the x-coordinate ofthe ECDH public key, and the ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_Y field will carry thevalue of the y-coordinate of the ECDH public key. If the NN 406 does notreceive an ACF slot for sending an MPS Request Message before thepredetermined time expires, then the NN 406 may conclude that theadmission was not successful and continue its network search.

Assuming that the NN 406 receives a beacon 412 indicating that an ACFslot has been scheduled by the NC 402 and the NN 406 sends the DiscoveryRequest message comprising the MPS Request Network IE 414, the NN 406may then monitor the ACF slot 416 scheduled in the next beacon 418 tosee whether a Pre-admission Discovery Response message with an MPSResponse Network IE 416 is sent from the NC 402. If the NN 406 does notreceive the response from the NC 402 in the next ACF slot 416, the NN406 may, for example, use the next ACF slot with ACF_TYPE equal to 0x0Fand ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE equal to 0x20 to retransmit a Discover RequestMessage (not shown in FIG. 4).

If, however, the NN 406 receives a Pre-admission Discovery Responsemessage 416 from the NC 402 in the next ACF slot, the NN 406 maydetermine the value of the CODE field of the MPS Response Network IE416. If the value of the CODE field is 0x0 (e.g., indicating that the NC402 either has MPS disabled or the NC 402 has not been triggered), theNN 406 may conclude that the admission was not successful and maycontinue searching for a network. Alternatively, if the value of theCODE field is 0x1 (e.g., indicating MPS is enabled and the NC 402 hasbeen triggered), the NN 406 may reset the MPS timer and use the valuesof the MPS_PARAMETERS that the NN 406 sent to the NC 402 to determinehow to proceed, for example based on the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5.

If the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 indicates “Node Privacy Admission”,then the NN 406 may continue node admission using the NN's activeprivacy settings. If the Decision Matrix indicates “FAILED”, then the NN406 may conclude that the admission was not successful and continue thenetwork search. The NN 406 may also report the pairing failure to itsmanagement entity using the MPS_(PAIR_FAILED) parameter. In addition,the NN 406 may set the PBState to CLEAR.

If the Decision Matrix indicates “No Privacy Admission”, then the NN 406may set the ACTIVATE_PRIVACY_(EN) local variable to DISABLE, report theACTIVATE_PRIVACY_(EN) local variable to the NN's management entity andcontinue to node admission.

If the Decision Matrix indicates “NC to NN PSWD Exchange”, then the NN406 may perform an MPS PSWD exchange during which the NC 402 willprovide the password to the NN 406.

If Decision Matrix indicates “NN to NC PSWD Exchange” the NN 406 mayperform an MPS PSWD exchange during which the NN 406 may provide thepassword to the NC 402.

The NN 406 may set the local variable PBState to CLEAR when it completesthe admission process. If, however, the admission fails, the NN 406 mayset the local variable PBState to CLEAR, for example as soon as the NN406 aborts the admission process.

FIG. 5 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. Such operation may, for example, be performed byvarious nodes when operating in a Beacon Phase of a network search, butthe scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

If an MPS trigger event occurs in a node that is in the Beacon Phase andsending beacons 509, the beaconing node 502 may check the status of theMPS_(EN) local variable and the PBState local variable. If the PBStatelocal variable is set to PUSHED or the MPS_(EN) local variable is set toDISABLE, the beaconing node 502 may for example ignore the MPS triggerevent. However, if the PBState local variable is set to CLEAR and theMPS_(EN) local variable is set to ENABLE 508, the beaconing node 502 mayfor example start an MPS timer and restart its network search (e.g.,leave Beacon Phase). If the MPS timer reaches the value MPS_(WALK_TIME)the node 502 will set PBState to CLEAR and reset the MPS timer.

Alternatively, if the node 502 receives a Pre-Admission Discover Requestmessage 511 with an MPS Request Network IE from an NN 506 during an ACFslot scheduled by the beacon 509, the node 502 will schedule an ACF slotin the next beacon 512 to allow transmission of a Pre-admissionDiscovery Response to the NN 506. The node 502 then transmits thePre-admission Discovery Response message 514 to the NN 506 during theACF slot. In the Pre-admission Discovery Response message 514, the CODEfield is set to 0x0 if the PBState local variable in the node 502 is setto CLEAR.

If the PBState local variable in the node 502 is set to PUSHED, the node502 will check the state of the MPSReqRx local variable, the value sentin the GUID field of the MPS Request Network IE, and the public key sentin the MPS Request Network IE to determine the value to set the CODEfield. If the MPSReqRx local variable is set to YES and the value of theGUID field sent by the NN 506 within the MPS Request Network IE 511 isnot equal to the value of held in the PBNewNode local variable, then theCODE field is set to 0x0. In addition, if the public key sent in the MPSRequest Network IE 511 does not match the key previously stored by theNC 502, the CODE field is set to 0x0. Otherwise, the CODE field is setto 0x1.

Bit 2 of the MPS_PARAMETER field in the Discovery Response 514 is set toreflect the value of the node's ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) configurationparameter. Bit 1 of the MPS_PARAMETER field in the response 514 is setto 0b0 if the value of PairedState is PAIRED. However, if the value ofPairedState is set to UNPAIRED, bit 1 will reflect the value of theNode's MPS_(PRIVACY_RECEIVE) configuration parameter. If bit 1 of theMPS_PARAMETER field in the response 514 is set to 0x1, then bit 0 of theMPS_PARAMETER field in the response 514 is set to reflect the value ofthe node's MPS_(PRIVACY_DOWN) configuration parameter.

If the CODE field in the Discovery Response 514 is set to 0x0 and theMPSReqRx is set to NO, then the node 502 will start an MPS timer, setthe MPSReqRx value to YES, set the value of PBNewNode to the NN's GUID(as determined from the MPS Request Network IE 511) and store the NN'spublic Key sent in the MPS Request Network IE 511.

Alternatively, if the CODE field of the response 514 is set to 0x0, butthe MPSReqRx is set to YES, the node 502 will continue normal operationand no action will be taken.

If the CODE field of the Discovery Response 514 is set to 0x1, the node502 will reset the MPS timer and use the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 todetermine how to proceed.

If Decision Matrix indicates “Node Privacy Admission” the node 502 willperform node admission using the Node's privacy settings(ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) and ACTIVE_PSWD).

If Decision Matrix indicates “Failed” the node 502 will set PBState toCLEAR, set MPSReqRx to NO, report the pairing failure to the managemententity using MPS_(PAIR_FAIL), and continue normal operation.

If Decision Matrix indicates “No Privacy Admission”, the node 502 willset ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) to DISABLED, report ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN)=DISABLEDto the management entity, and continue to node admission.

If Decision Matrix indicates “NC to NN PSWD Exchange”, the node 502 willcontinue to MPS PSWD exchange, during which the Node will provide thepassword to the NN.

If Decision Matrix indicates “NN to NC PSWD Exchange”, the node 502 willcontinue to MPS PSWD exchange, during which the NN will provide thepassword to the node 502.

The node 502 will set PBState to CLEAR upon completing the admission ofthe NN 506. Alternatively, if admission fails, the node 502 will setPBState to CLEAR as soon as the node 502 stops the admission process.

FIG. 6 shows message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In an example implementation, if the MPS_(EN) of theEN 604 is set to DISABLE, then the EN 604 may for example ignore any MPStrigger event. However, when the EN 604 has its MPS enabled and istriggered with an MPS triggering event 632, the EN 604 may for examplesend an MPS Request PIE 610 in an RR to the NC 602 as shown in FIG. 6.When the NC 602 receives the MPS Request PIE 610, if the PBState isequal to CLEAR and the MPSReqRx is equal to NO, the NC 602 will setPBState to PUSHED, set the PBNode local variable to the value of thenode ID for the EN 604 as indicate in the MPS Request Protocol IE 610,start an MPS timer, and broadcast an MPS Session Notification Message612 to all the ENs of the network. An example format of the MPS SessionNotification Message is provided in TABLE 11. In an exampleimplementation, the NC 602 will disable any handoff of the NCfunctionality during an MPS session. In such case, no MPS SessionNotification Message need be sent to the other ENs in the network.

TABLE 11 MPS Session Notification Message Format Field Length Usage MPDUHeader TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduled time derivedfrom the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits 0xA - MPSSession Notification PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Link control II VERSION 8bits 0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits The NC node ID when sentby the NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bits DESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits0x00 PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total length of the MPDU frame body inbytes (excluding the MPDU header). MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits Thisfield is Type III reserved. HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame CheckSequence - is calculated over the MPDU header starting from theTransmit_Clock field and ending with (including) theMPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS is calculated usingCRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 +x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame Payload TYPE 4 bits Type IIIreserved. MPS_STATUS_UPDATE 4 bits 0x0 - First MPS Trigger - Network0x1 - First MPS Trigger - NN 0x2 - Second MPS Trigger - Network 0x3 -End MPS session Other values reserved. PB_NODE 8 bits IfMPS_STATUS_UPDATE = 0x0 or 0x2, the value of PBNode; Otherwise, Type IIIreserved. RESERVED 16 bits Type III PB_NEW_NODE 64 bits IfMPS_STATUS_UPDATE = 0x1, the value of PBNewNode; Otherwise, the field isnot sent. ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_X 256 bits If MPS_STATUS_UPDATE = 0x1, thevalue is copied from the ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_X field in the received MPSRequest Network IE; Otherwise, the field is not sent. ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_Y256 bits If MPS_STATUS_UPDATE = 0x1, the value is copied from theECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_Y field in the received MPS Request Network IE;Otherwise, the field is not sent. Payload FCS PAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits Forall the Management and Control MPDUs, and for the Ethernet data packet,the 32-bit FCS is calculated using CRC-32-IEEE 802.3 (x{circumflex over( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 + x{circumflex over ( )}23 +x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 + x{circumflex over ( )}10 +x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over ( )}7 + x{circumflex over( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + x + 1). Forthe A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS is calculated using the CRC-16(x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDU header FCS.

The MPS_STATUS_UPDATE field may, for example, set to 0x0 and the PB_NODEfield may, for example, be set to the value of the PBNode localvariable.

If the value of PBState is CLEAR, but the value of MPSReqRx is YES, thenthe NC 602 may set the value of PBState to PUSHED, set the value ofPBNode to the node ID of the node that sent the MPS Request Protocol IE610 and broadcast an MPS Session Notification Message having theMPS_STATUS_UPDATE field loaded with the value 0x2 and the PBNode fieldloaded with the value of the NC's PBNode local variable.

If the value of PBState is PUSHED, then the NC 602 may for exampledetermine whether the value of PBNode is equal to the node ID sent inthe MPS Request Protocol IE 610. If so, then the NC 602 may ignore therequest and take no action. However, if the value of PBNode is not equalto the node ID sent in the MPS Request Protocol IE 610, the NC 602 mayreset the MPS timer, set the PBState to CLEAR and the MPSReqRx to NO,and broadcast an MPS Session Notification Message with MPS_STATUS_UPDATEfield equal to 0x3.

If the MPS timer in the NC 602 reaches MPS_(WALK_TIME), the NC 602 mayfor example set PBState to CLEAR, set MPSReqRx to NO, reset the MPStimer, and send an MPS Session Notification Message withMPS_STATUS_UPDATE field loaded with the value 0x3. If, however, an NN606 is triggered by an MPS trigger event 634 (e.g., the MPS button onthe NN 606 is pressed), the NN 606 may send to the NC 602 aPre-admission Discovery Request Message with a MPS Request Network IE614. The NC 602 may then transmit the next Beacon with an ACF slotscheduled to allow the NC 602 to transmit a Pre-admission DiscoveryResponse Message with an MPS Response Network IE 616 (see TABLE 4 above)to the NN 606.

In the MPS Response Network IE 616, the NC 602 may, for example, set theCODE field and the Node's MPS parameters in the MPS_PARAMETER field asfollows:

If PBState is set to CLEAR, then the NC may set the CODE field to 0x0.However, if the PBState local variable is set to PUSHED, MPSReqRx is setto YES, and the GUID of the NN 606 that sent the MPS Request Network IE614 is not equal to the value of the PBNewNode local variable or thepublic key that is stored is not equal to the public key sent in the MPSRequest Network IE 614, then the CODE may be set to 0x0. If the PBStatelocal variable is set to PUSHED and MPSReqRx is set to NO, or MPSReqRxis set to YES and the GUID of the NN 606 that sent the MPS RequestNetwork IE 614 is equal to the value of the PBNewNode local variable andthe public key matches the stored public key, then the CODE may be setto 0x1.

In addition, bit 2 of the MPS_PARAMETER field in the MPS ResponseNetwork IE 616 may be set to reflect the value of ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN),bit 1 may be set to 0b0 and bit 0 may be set to 0b0.

In addition, in response to receiving the Pre-admission DiscoveryRequest Network IE 614, the NC 602 may determine the values of the CODEfield and MPS_PARAMETERS field of the MPS Response Network IE 616 itsent to the NN 606 and the last setting of the MPSReqRx local variableand use those values to determine how to proceed.

If the value of the CODE field of the MPS Response Network IE 616 isequal to 0x0 and MPSReqRx is set to NO, then the NC 602 may for examplestart a MPS timer, set MPSReqRx to YES, set PBNewNode to the NN's GUID,store the NN's Public Key (as sent in the MPS Request Network IE 614),and broadcast a Network MPS Session Notification (see TABLE 11) with thevalue 0x1 loaded in the MPS_STATUS_UPDATE field.

If the CODE field of the MPS Response Network IE 616 is equal to 0x0 andMPSReqRx is set to YES, then the NC 602 may for example continue normaloperation and no action is required.

If the CODE field of the MPS Response Network IE 616 is 0x1, then the NC602 may for example reset the MPS timer, set PBState to CLEAR, setMPSReqRx to NO, send a MPS Session Notification in which theMPS_STATUS_UPDATE field is set to 0x3. In addition, the NC 602 may usethe Decision Matrix of TABLE 5, and identify the Decision indicated bythe applying the received and transmitted MPS_PARAMETERS.

If the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 indicates “Node Privacy Admission”,then the NC 602 may for example continue normal operation.

If the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 indicates “Failed” then the NC 602 mayfor example report the pairing failure to the management entity usingMPS_(PAIR_FAIL) and continue normal operation.

If the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 indicates “NC to NN PSWD Exchange”,then the NC 602 may for example perform a MPS PSWD exchange in which theNC 602 will provide the password to the NN 606.

In accordance with an example implementation, the NC 602 will nottransmit a MPS Session Notification message if there are no MOCA 2.1nodes present in the network. However, in an alternative implementation,such message may be transmitted regardless of what nodes are present. Ifthe NC 602 drops from the network for any reason, the NC 602 may forexample set PBState to CLEAR, set MPSReqRx to NO and reset the MPS timerif it is running.

FIG. 7 shows example message exchange sequences, and functions and tasksperformed by various nodes, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, the example message exchange sequencesmay take place between an NN 706 and an NC 702 during a passwordexchange. In accordance with an example implementation, when thedecision indicated by the Decision Matrix of TABLE 5 indicates that apassword exchange is to be carried out, the exchange is carried out asfollows. If the exchange is not completed successfully, the NN 706 willset the PBState local variable to CLEAR and the NC 702 will set theMPSReqRx variable to NO. The NC 702 will then resume normal operationand the NN 706 will resume performing a network search.

When the decision is made to perform a password exchange, the NC 702 mayfor example transmit the next beacon with an ACF scheduled with ACF_TYPEset to 0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE set to 0x21. The NN 706 may thentransmit an MPS ACK message 708. TABLE 13 provides an example format forthe MPS ACK Message 708.

TABLE 13 MPS ACK Message Format Field Length Usage MPDU HeaderTRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduled time derived from thecorresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits 0x9 - MPS ACKPACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Link control II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits The NC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00otherwise. RESERVED 8 bits DESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH16 bits The total length of the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding theMPDU header). MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type IIIreserved. HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - iscalculated over the MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock fieldand ending with (including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. TheHEADER_FCS is calculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 +x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame PayloadRESERVED 31 bits Type III RESPONSE_TYPE 1 bit 0b0 - ACK Other value isreserved. GUID 64 bits 64 bit MAC address of the device Payload FCSPAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management and Control MPDUs, and forthe Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS is calculated using CRC-32-IEEE802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 +x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 +x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflexover ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS iscalculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflexover ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDUheader FCS.

If the NC 702 does not receive the MPS ACK message 708 from the NN 706,the NC 702 may schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot withACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x02. The NC 702 may thenretransmit a Pre-Admission Discovery Response with the MPS ResponseNetwork IE that lead to the password exchange. The Pre-AdmissionDiscovery Response with the MPS Response Network IE will be sent in theACF slot (not shown in FIG. 7). In the following Beacon, the NC 702 maythen schedule another ACF slot for the MPS ACK message from the NN 706.The NC 702 may repeat the retransmission of the MPS Response andrescheduling of the MPS ACK message 708 until it either receives the MPSACK message 708 from the NN 706 or the NC 702 completes a predeterminednumber of repetitions. If after predetermined number of repetition theNC 702 does not receive the MPS ACK message 708, the NC 702 may abortthe MPS password exchange.

Upon successful reception of the MPS ACK message 708, the NC 702 mayschedule an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x02 andtransmit a Pre-admission Discovery Response 710 to the NN 706. TheDiscovery Response 710 may, for example, comprise an MPS NC Public KeyNetwork IE. An example format of the MPS NC Public Key Network IE isshown in TABLE 14.

TABLE 14 NC Public Key Network IE Format Field Length Value IE HeaderTYPE 8 bits 0x0B - NC Public Key Network IE LENGTH 8 bits 0x0E IEPayload NODE_ID 8 bits The ID of the NC RESERVED 8 bits Type IIIREQUESTING_NODE_GUID 64 bits This field is copied from the last receivedMPS ACK message. ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_X 256 bits x coordinate of the NC'sECDH public key ECDH_PUBLIC_KEY_Y 256 bits y coordinate of the NC's ECDHpublic key

After transmitting the Pre-admission Discovery Response 710 with the NCPublic Key Network IE, the NC 702 may schedule in the next Beacon an ACFslot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x21. The NN 706 maythen acknowledge the reception of NC Public Key by sending a Public KeyACK message 712 in the scheduled slot. An example format of the ACKmessage 712 (e.g., a Public Key ACK message or MPS ACK message) is shownin TABLE 15

TABLE 15 MPS ACK Message Format Field Length Usage MPDU HeaderTRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduled time derived from thecorresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits 0x9 - MPS ACKPACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Link control II VERSION 8 bits 0x10 RESERVED 8bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits The NC node ID when sent by the NC. 0x00otherwise. RESERVED 8 bits DESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00 PACKET_LENGTH16 bits The total length of the MPDU frame body in bytes (excluding theMPDU header). MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This field is Type IIIreserved. HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame Check Sequence - iscalculated over the MPDU header starting from the Transmit_Clock fieldand ending with (including) the MPDU_CONTROL_Information field. TheHEADER_FCS is calculated using CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 +x{circumflex over ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1). Frame PayloadRESERVED 31 bits Type III RESPONSE_TYPE 1 bit 0b0 - ACK Other value isreserved. GUID 64 bits 64 bit MAC address of the device Payload FCSPAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management and Control MPDUs, and forthe Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS is calculated using CRC-32-IEEE802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 +x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 +x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflexover ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS iscalculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflexover ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDUheader FCS.

If the NC 702 does not receive the Public Key ACK from the NN 706, theNC 702 may, for example, schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot withACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x02 and retransmit thePre-admission Discovery Response 710 with its Public Key in an MPS NCPublic key Network IE in the scheduled ACF slot. In the following Beaconthe NC 702 may schedule another ACF slot for the Public Key ACK from theNN 706. The NC 702 may repeat the retransmission of the DiscoveryResponse message 710 with the NC Public Key Network IE and reschedulingof the NC Public Key ACK 712 until either it receives the ACK 712 fromthe NN 706 or it completes a predetermined number of repetitions. Ifafter predetermined number of repetitions, the NC 702 does not receivethe ACK 712, the NC 702 may consider the exchange to have beenunsuccessful and abort the MPS password exchange.

If the password exchange is an NC to NN PSWD Exchange, then uponreceiving the Public Key ACK message 712 from the NN 706, the NC 702 maytransmit an MPS Network Password message 714 to the NN 706, for exampleat least a first predetermined number of seconds and not more than asecond predetermined number of seconds after the receipt of the MPS ACK712. In one example implementation, the first predetermined number ofseconds may be determined by a local variable, T_(MPS_KEY_GEN_MIN) andthe second predetermined time may be determined by a local variable,T_(MPS_KEY_GEN_MAX). The MPS Network Password message 714 may, forexample, be transmitted in an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x22. An example format of the MPS Network Passwordmessage 714 is provided in TABLE 16.

TABLE 16 MPS Network Password Message Format Field Length Usage MPDUHeader TRANSMIT_CLOCK 32 bits This value is the scheduled time derivedfrom the corresponding AU in the MAP. PACKET_SUBTYPE 4 bits 0x8 - MPSNetwork Password PACKET_TYPE 4 bits 0x9 - Link control II VERSION 8 bits0x10 RESERVED 8 bits SOURCE_NODE_ID 8 bits The NC node ID when sent bythe NC. 0x00 otherwise. RESERVED 8 bits DESTINATION_NODE_ID 8 bits 0x00PACKET_LENGTH 16 bits The total length of the MPDU frame body in bytes(excluding the MPDU header). MPDU_CONTROL_INFORMATION 32 bits This fieldis Type III reserved. HEADER_FCS 16 bits MPDU header Frame CheckSequence - is calculated over the MPDU header starting from theTransmit_Clock field and ending with (including) theMPDU_CONTROL_Information field. The HEADER_FCS is calculated usingCRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}15 +x{circumflex over ( )}2 + l). Frame Payload NETWORK_PASSWORD 512 bitsThe network password. If the password length is less than 64 bytes, padthe password to 64 bytes with leading ASCII zeros. Payload FCSPAYLOAD_FCS 32 bits For all the Management and Control MPDUs, and forthe Ethernet data packet, the 32-bit FCS is calculated using CRC-32-IEEE802.3 (x{circumflex over ( )}32 + x{circumflex over ( )}26 +x{circumflex over ( )}23 + x{circumflex over ( )}22 + x{circumflex over( )}16 + x{circumflex over ( )}12 + x{circumflex over ( )}11 +x{circumflex over ( )}10 + x{circumflex over ( )}8 + x{circumflex over( )}7 + x{circumflex over ( )}5 + x{circumflex over ( )}4 + x{circumflexover ( )}2 + x + 1). For the A_PDU sub-header the 16-bit FCS iscalculated using the CRC-16 (x{circumflex over ( )}16 + x{circumflexover ( )}15 + x{circumflex over ( )}2 + 1), the same as for the MPDUheader FCS.

In accordance with an example implementation, the message 714 may beencrypted using AES with an MPSKey. Alternatively, just the fieldcarrying the password might be encrypted.

After transmitting the Network Password message 714, the NC 702 mayschedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x21. The NN 706 may then acknowledge the receptionof Network Password message 714 by sending an MPS ACK message 716.

The NN 702 may then use the new password it received from the NC 702 fornetwork admission. The NN 706 may also report a parameter ACTIVE_PSWDwith a value equal to the new password to its management entity, and aparameter ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) having a value equal to “Enabled” ifPRIVACY_(EN) is configured as DISABLED by the management entity.

If the NC 702 does not receive the MPS ACK 716 from the NN 706, the NC702 may schedule in the next Beacon an ACF slot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F andADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x22 and retransmit the Network Password message714. In the following Beacon, the NC 702 may schedule another ACF slotfor the MPS ACK 716 from the NN 706. The NC 702 may, for example, repeatthe retransmission of the Network Password message 714 and reschedulingof the MPS ACK until it either receives the ACK 716 from the NN 706 orit completes a predetermined number of repetitions. If after thepredetermined number of repetition the NC 702 does not receive the ACK716, the NC 702 may abort the MPS password exchange.

If the password exchange is an NN to NC PSWD Exchange, then uponreceiving the Public Key ACK message 712, the NC 702 may schedule an ACFslot with ACF_TYPE=0x0F and ADDITIONAL_ACF_TYPE=0x23, for examplebetween TMPS_KEY_GEN_MIN and TMPS_KEY_GEN_MAX after it receives the ACKmessage 712. The NN 702 may transmit a Network Password message 718 inthe scheduled ACF slot. In accordance with one embodiment, the message718 may be encrypted using AES with the MPSKey.

If the NC 702 does not receive the Network Password message 718 from theNN 702, the NC 702 may schedule another ACF slot for the NetworkPassword message 718 from the NN 706 in the next Beacon. If afterrescheduling the Network Password message 718 for a predetermined numberof times the NC 702 does not receive the Network Password message 718from the NN 706, the NC 702 may abort the MPS password exchange.

Once the NC 702 receives the Network Password message 718 from the NN706, the NC 702 may start using the new Privacy setting based onACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) and ACTIVE_PSWD for network admission. The NC 702may also report the ACTIVE_PSWD having a value equal to the new passwordto the management entity and ACTIVE_PRIVACY_(EN) having a value equal to“Enabled” if PRIVACY_(EN) is configured as DISABLED by the managemententity.

In accordance with an example implementation in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure, MPS keys are calculated as follows:

The example implementation may, for example, use ECDH P-256 EllipticCurve Diffie Hellman as the cryptographic key exchange protocol. Thefollowing parameters and notations may be used for the Elliptic CurveDiffie-Hellman Exchange:

-   -   dNN: a private key randomly selected by the NN    -   dNC: a private key randomly selected by the NC    -   QNN: the 2×256-bit Diffie-Hellman Public Key of the NN    -   QNC: the 2×256-bit Diffie-Hellman Public Key of the NC    -   DHKey: a 256-bit Diffie-Hellman Shared Secret Key    -   MPSKey: a 128-bit AES key derived from DHKey which is used to        encrypt the MPS Network Password message and ACK message    -   G: the base point of ECDH with x coordinate of Gx and y        coordinate of Gy    -   ∥: the concatenation operation

The NN 706 and NC 702 randomly generate the private keys dNN and dNC,respectively. The Diffie-Hellman Public Keys are calculated as:QNN=dNN*G and QNC=dNC*G.

The NN then calculates the Diffie-Hellman Shared Secret Key as:DHKey=dNN*GNC

The NC then calculates the Diffie-Hellman Shared Secret Key as:DHKey=dNC*GNN

Both the NN 706 and the NC 702 calculate the MPS Key as:MPSKey=the first 128 bits of HMAC-SHA-256 (DHKey,PKNN∥NNMAC∥PKNC), whereNNMAC is the 6-byte MAC address of the NN 706.

In summary, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems andmethods for securing a network, for admitting new nodes into an existingnetwork, and/or securely forming a new network. While the foregoing hasbeen described with reference to certain aspects and examples, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may bemade and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scopeof the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapta particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosurewithout departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that thedisclosure not be limited to the particular example(s) disclosed, butthat the disclosure will include all examples falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A network comprising: a first node; and asecond node, wherein: the first node comprises at least one firstcircuit operable to, at least: receive a first message from the secondnode; determine, based at least in part on privacy status information ofthe received first message, whether to receive a second node passwordfrom the second node; and when a determination is made to receive thesecond node password from the second node, then receive the second nodepassword from the second node; and the second node comprises at leastone second circuit operable to, at least: receive a second message fromthe first node; determine, based at least in part on privacy statusinformation of the received second message, whether to send a networknode password to the first node; and when a determination is made tosend the network node password to the first node, then send the networknode password to the first node, wherein: at least a portion of the atleast one first circuit is operable to receive the first message fromthe second node in a first time slot that is known to the first nodebefore the second node transmits the first message; and at least aportion of the at least one second circuit is operable to receive thesecond message from the first node in a second time slot that is knownto the second node before the first node transmits the second message.2. A network comprising: a first node; and a second node, wherein: thefirst node comprises at least one first circuit operable to, at least:receive a first message from the second node; determine, based at leastin part on a first plurality of privacy flags of the received firstmessage, whether to receive the second node password from the secondnode; and when a determination is made to receive the second nodepassword from the second node, then receive the second node passwordfrom the second node; and the second node comprises at least one secondcircuit operable to, at least: receive a second message from the firstnode; determine, based at least in part on a second plurality of privacyflags of the received second message, whether to send the second nodepassword to the first node; and when a determination is made to send thenetwork node password to the first node, then send the network nodepassword to the first node.
 3. The network of claim 2, wherein at leasta portion of the at least one first circuit is operable to, when thereceived first message acknowledges receipt of a particular priormessage previously sent by the first node, transmit public keyinformation to the second node.
 4. The network of claim 2, wherein: thefirst plurality of privacy flags comprises at least three first bitflags, each of the three first bit flags indicating a respective firstprivacy parameter; and the second plurality of privacy flags comprisesat least three second bit flags, each of the three second bit flagsindicating a respective second privacy parameter.
 5. The network ofclaim 2, wherein: the second node is a network coordinator (NC) node ofa premises-based coaxial cable communication network; and the first nodeis a non-NC node of the premises-based coaxial cable communicationnetwork.
 6. A network node comprising: at least one circuit comprising acommunication circuit, a processor and memory, wherein at least aportion of the at least one circuit is operable to, at least: receive amessage from a second node; determine, based at least in part on aplurality of privacy flags of the received message, whether to receivethe second node password from the second node; and when a determinationis made to receive the second node password from the second node, thenreceive the second node password from the second node.
 7. The networknode of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the at least one circuitis operable to receive the message from the second node in a time slotthat is known to the network node before the second node transmits themessage.
 8. The network node of claim 6, wherein at least a portion ofthe at least one circuit is operable to, when the received messageacknowledges receipt of a prior message previously sent by the networknode, then transmit public key information to the second node.
 9. Thenetwork node of claim 6, wherein the plurality of privacy flagscomprises at least three bit flags, each of the three bit flagsindicating a respective privacy parameter.
 10. The network node of claim6, wherein at least a portion of the at least one circuit is operable tobroadcast a Media Access Plan (MAP).
 11. The network node of claim 6,wherein at least a portion of the at least one circuit is operable toperform network coordinator functionality for a premises-based coaxialcable network.
 12. A network node comprising: at least one circuitcomprising a communication circuit, a processor and memory, wherein atleast a portion of the at least one circuit is operable to, at least:receive a message from a second node; determine, based at least in parton a plurality of privacy flags of the received message, whether to sendthe network node password to the second node; and when a determinationis made to send the network node password to the second node, then sendthe network node password to the second node.
 13. The network node ofclaim 12, wherein at least a portion of the at least one circuit isoperable to determine, based at least in part on privacy statusinformation of the received message, whether to receive a second nodepassword from the second node.
 14. The network node of claim 12, whereinat least a portion of the at least one circuit is operable to receivethe message from the second node in a time slot that is known to thenetwork node before the second node transmits the message.
 15. Thenetwork node of claim 12, wherein the plurality of privacy flagscomprises at least three bit flags, each of the three bit flagsindicating a respective privacy parameter.
 16. The network node of claim12, wherein at least a portion of the at least one circuit is operableto receive a Media Access Plan (MAP).
 17. The network node of claim 12,wherein: the second node is a network coordinator (NC) node of apremises-based coaxial cable communication network; and the network nodeis a non-NC node of the premises-based coaxial cable communicationnetwork.